Koushun Takamis notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of 42 junior high school students are taken to a deserted island where as part of a ruthless authoritarian program they are electronically collared provided with weapons of varying potency & sent out onto the isl&. If they are in the wrong part of the island at the wrong time their collars will explode. If they band together to save themselves a collar will explode at random. If they try to escape from the island they will be blown up. Their only chance for survival lies in killing their classmates. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan
- where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller
- Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century & a potent story of politics & survival in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic & is now available for the first time to the UK mainstream.

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The Battle of Loos saw a change in Allied strategy which up until then had been a series of small-scale assaults that achieved little or no ground gained. Loos was to be different Kitcheners Army was deployed in strength for the first time & an ambitious plan aimed to take ground over a 20-mile front. As the fog of war descended the first days gains were lost over subsequent days fighting & in the end the Big Push saw little achieved with Allied losses of about 50 000 men. Through"es & maps the text explores the unfolding action of the battle & puts the reader on the frontline. If you truly want to understand what happened & why
- read Battle Story.
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The Fall of Singapore remains a crushing defeat that sent shockwaves around the British Empire during the Second World War. Singapore had always been seen as an impenetrable fortress that would protect the British Empires stake in the Far East
- a legacy of the great days of global dominion. The British Army were aware of the threat to Singapore & Malaya from the first days after Pearl Harbor but they viewed the Japanese Army as an inferior fighting force incapable of standing up to the defences & trained troops of the British. Yet in December 1941 the Japanese launched a swift attack on the Singapore airfields nearly wiping out the entire fleet of RAF frontline aeroplanes. On 10 December the Japanese also destroyed two of the Royal Navys premier battleships off the Malay coast. Suddenly the fate of Singapore rested solely in the hands of the Army. Despite having 90 000 British soldiers posted in Singapore they were quickly overwhelmed by the speed & ferocity of the invading Japanese forces numbering 75 000 men. The brutality of the Japanese tactics & their sheer ferocity shocked the British & they were soon forced to retreat. By January/ February 1942 the British last stand melted away & the Japanese swept into the city slaughtering those who stood in their way. Over 100 000 men were taken prisoner & many thousands (possibly up to 50 000) residents of the city were massacred. To understand what happened & why read Battle Story.
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The Battle of the Bulge marked one of the final desperate struggles between German & Allied forces in Europe during the last stages of the Second World War. If you want to understand what happened & why
- read Battle Story. Key profiles explore the Allied forces pitted against the German army Fifteen detailed maps track the progress of the battle & the shifting frontlines Rare photographs place you on the frontline of the unfolding action Orders of battle show the composition of the opposing forces armies Diary extracts "es give you a soldiers eye-view of the battle Packed with fact boxes this short introduction is the perfect way to explore this crucial campaign
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The Battle of Goose Green was the first & longest land conflict of the Falklands War which was fought between British & Argentine forces in 1982. The British forces attacking over featureless wind-swept & boggy ground were heavily outnumbered & lacked fire support but brilliantly defeated the Argentine garrison in a fourteen-hour struggle. If you want to understand what happened & why
- read Battle Story. Detailed profiles examine the personalities of the British & Argentine commanders including that of Victoria Cross winner Lt Col H Jones First-hand accounts offer an insight into this remarkable fourteen-hour struggle against the odds Detailed maps explore the area of Darwin Hill & Goose Green & the advance of the British forces Photographs place you at the centre of this pivotal battle Orders of battle show the composition of the opposing forces armies Packed with fact boxes this short introduction is the perfect way to explore this crucial battle.
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By the end of January 1968 the American people thought their armed forces were winning in South Vietnam after three years of escalating confl ict. Then the North Vietnamese Army & Viet Cong struck back hitting military & political targets across the country. While the NVA & Viet Cong suffered a military defeat they dealt a huge blow to US support for the war. If you want to understand what happened & why
- read Battle Story. Detailed profi les examine the background of the opposing commanders as well as the contrasting tactics & equipment of their fighting forces Contemporary accounts reveal the true story of this pivotal battle & its consequences for the Vietnam War Specially commissioned maps analyse the key developments during the battle Excellent photographs place the reader at the centre of the fighting Orders of battle show the composition of the opposing forces armies
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El Alamein 1942 heralded a great victory for the Allied forces in the Second World War & marked a major turning point in the Western Desert campaign. If you truly want to understand what happened & why
- read Battle Story. Key profiles explore the tactics & personalities pitted against each other: Montgomery & Rommel Diary extracts "es offer a real insight into what it was like to fight in this unforgiving desert Maps highlight the adversities of terrain & minefields that dominated the fighting Photographs place you on the frontline of the unfolding action Orders of Battle detail the composition of the opposing forces armies Packed with fact boxes this short introduction is the perfect way to start exploring this important battle
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' Fire as she bears. Rake her lads.' Winter 1793. Newly promoted Master & Commander Charles Hayden's orders are to deliver the frigate HMS Themis to Lord Admiral Hood whose fleet is sheltering in the Mediterranean. Only hours out of port however & the Themis is engaging with the French navy. Hayden's destination is Toulon a French port under Lord Hood's protection. But there Hayden's captaincy & seamanship are stretched to their limits. For Toulon holds a deadly surprise for the unwary.. .A Battle Won" is the brilliant second instalment in the epic maritime adventures of Charles Hayden. This is a masterpiece in the tradition of Bernard Cornwell & Patrick O' Brian." ...

Epic fantasy in the tradition of Trudi Canavan Fiona Mc Intosh & Robert Jordan. A thousand years ago the people of Achar drove the Forbidden from their lands. But now the northern tribes of the Ravensbund are fleeing south again with nightmarish tales of creatures who feed upon the terror of their prey. Winter has come early & with it the promise of war. Axis bastard son of the dead Princess Rivkah is sent north to the battlefront at Gorkenfort with his elite Axe-Wielders. Once there he must hand over command to his hated half-brother Borneheld Duke of Ichar & heir to the throne. But during the long journey Axis falls in love with Faraday -- Bornehelds betrothed -- & finds himself reassessing the very essence of his beliefs. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance Axis must unite the feuding lands under one banner before it is too late & the evil rising in the north engulfs them all for good. ...

The stories in Battleborn all unfold in Watkinss home state of Nevada from down south in Nye County & Las Vegas to Reno Lake Tahoe Virginia City & the Black Rock Desert the site of Burning Man. We are introduced to a very specific small-town America to those homes & lives off the highway
- the ones travellers & writers usually bypass on their way to somewhere else. While the locations are ordinary the characters & Watkinss telling of their lives is anything but. There is the man who finds a cache of letters pills & a photograph abandoned by the side of the road & as he writes to the man he imagines left them behind reveals moving truths about himself (The Last Thing We Need); the man in late middle age who finds a troubled pregnant teen dying in the desert & through her begins to dream of regaining the family he lost (Man-O-War); the brothers caught in the early days of the gold rush (The Diggings); & the sisters unable to comfort each other following their mothers suicide (Graceland). & there is the first story (Ghosts Cowboys) a semi-autobiographical account of a troubled
- & infamous
- family history. These are stories to take the reader right to the heart of a truly American experience
- face pressed up against a window peeking past the unwashed panes to watch lives unfold. In their very specificity these are stories that are also universal.



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